In this VETgirl veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Marisa Brunetti, VMD and Dave Shuey, LMSW, DMA who offer a fresh take on burnout and compassion fatigue in veterinary medicine. These two terms have become popular buzzwords that people use to address two of the most common mental health hazards inside and outside veterinary medicine. Brunetti and Shuey make a case that many prescriptions for work-life balance and self-care, while well-intentioned, fail to address the real danger due to inadvertently placing blame for “burnout” and “compassion fatigue” upon the sufferer. To more accurately describe and understand what we experience in the normal course of our duties, burnout and compassion fatigue should be seen as complex symptoms of simple (but sometimes deadly) problems of moral injury and trauma exposure. Join us in this VETgirl podcast for some important talk about sensitive subjects, vulnerable stories, and pathways to lasting change with the IndeVets team.
